odell



(No Model.) I 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

, R.0.'0DBLL.

' FOLDING BED.

Nro..6'05,126. y Patented June 7, 1898.-

TN: Nonms Pinzas cu, Phoroumo., msnmu'ron. o. r;A

l (No ModeLlf I s sheetssheen 2.

EQU. ODELL. FOLDING BBD.

" N0. 605,12@ l PatentedJune 7, 1.898.

(No Model.) 3 'sheets-sheen 3.

R. G.- ODELL. FOLDING BED.

TN: Nonms Ptrzns on. PHo'rau-ruc.. wAsumm'oN. D. c.

'A Um-'TED STATES; PATENT OFF-ICE.

' piece of furniture Iand serve the purpose of al s L noBERrcf-QDELL,oirpNEwfYoRIn-N: Y.

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' r'OLDlNGBED. "i

'srncIFmA'rIoN forming pag; of Letters Ptnt No. 605,126, dated June 7, lees.

i Y c g A, 'ODELL, a citizen of the United States, residing at New Yorkjin the county oflNew York and State of "New York, have invei'ited'certaiii new and usefullmprovements in Foldi`ng"l3eds`;` and I do declare the following to be a full, clear,

and 'exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to folding beds, more4 particularly those formed of metal; andit has for one of its objectsto provide a metallic bed which is adapted when not in use to be compactly folded and when so folded to be entirely hidden, if so desired, by a textile cover thrown overY it, soas to form an attractive:

stand or tablefif desired.

Another object ofthe invention is to provide a folding bed-frame whichinay'l be quickly and easily made`,'with the resnltthat the cost,

of its production is materially lessened, and one which While being very lightisexceedingly strongafnd durable and is therefore well:

calculated to withstand the usage to which folding beds are ordinarily subjected.

Another object is to provide in a folding bed a construction whereby the folding sec-` 'tions arefloclged Vagainst casual` movement in their 'operative horizontal position and also in their upright position, and the elasticity of the mattress is utilized to assist in raising the said folding sections to their upright position.

v'Anotl'ler object is to provide an exceedingly cheap and simple construction, whereby a strngand durable connection of casters ,to

the' legs of the frame-body is effected.

ith the foregoing in view the invention will be fully understood from the following description and claims when taken in con j unction with the annexed drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved bed in i'tsunfoldedror operative position. Fig. 2 is a'perspe'c'tive view of the frame of the bed with the mattress removed. Fig. 3 is a transverse central section ofthe bed as it appears when folded-f Fig, 4 islan enlarged detail sectionillustrating themanner in which the end lbo'z'trds ofthe bed are connected when the 'bed isfolde'd so as to form a stable stand y or table top. Fig. 4a is an` enlarged detail Referring by" letter: to Said"d'ra section illustrating the connectionbetween thegend boards of the folding sections; and the U -shaped bars thereof. Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail elevation illustrative of the manner in which the casters are connected to the legs of the"frame-body. Fig. 6 is a transverse section .taken in the plane indicatedb'ythe line m xof Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail view illustrative ofthe manner in which the VU-shaped bars of the frame are formed; and

F-ig. 8 is a perspective view, with partsfbroken away, illustrating a modified construction 'whereby a top is formedr'byo'ne endv board when vthe bed is folded.

I wings and more particularly to Figs. 1 to' 7 thereof, A

v designates the frame-body of my improved bed, which, as better shown in Fig.j 2, comprises the U-shaped bars a and interposed connecting-straps l?. The U-shapedbars a are each preferably made after 'the fmanner bettenillustrated in'Fig. that'isto say, V-

Ashaped pieces c are removed from the vertically-disposed portion of7 a bar of angle-iron "at two points, and the said bar is then bent at'sch points so as to form the rectangular or U-shaped bar with the horizontal portion d and the depending branches or legs e.

Vlith this done the V-'shaped-pieces care connectednby rivets fito the horizontal portion d :and regs as beast' shawn ifrig'ald in consequence the connection of the legs to said horizontal portion is materially strengthened.

In this way it will be observed that the rectangular or U-shaped bars may be quickly and easily formed without the employment of expensive machinery or skilled labor and that when so formed the U-shaped bars are very strong and durable and capable of supporting a great weight.

B designates the end folding sections of the bed-frame. These sections B are formed by rectangular or U-shaped' bars g, which are preferably ,made of angle-iron inthe same manner as the bars a of the vbody A; and' are provided with end boards h, which bpieference are connected tothe transverse portions of the bars g and are d esigned,`wh'enithe,bed

is folded, to form a table or stand top, as illustrated in Fig. 3. These end boards h are of a peculiar and advantageous construction'in that they respectively comprise a plate t, of

IOO

thin sheet metal, which is bent at its inner edge over the horizontal portion of the an gleiron, as indicated byj, (see Fig. 45",) and the rectangular straps 7.1, which rest at opposite sides of and are riveted to the plate z and are bolted or otherwise suitably connected at their ends to the transverse portion of the bar y, as illustrated.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that the thin plates '1I are light and do not add materially to the weight of the bed and that they are susceptible of being embossed by dies and may therefore be ornamented very quickly and cheaply. It will also be appreciated that the straps 7; reinforce and prevent breaking down of the plates 't' and at lhe same time strongly connect said plates to the transverse portions of the U-shaped bars g. End boards i, formed in the manner described, also possess resiliency, and this permits of them being connected in the manner shown in Fig. -iwhen the bed is foldedthat is to say,through the medium of a keeperloop l on one end board 't' and a hook m on the other end board, the latter board being designed to give upwardly to permit of the hook m being engaged with the keeper-loop Z and the said hook being preferably provided with an aperture to receive apin when it is desired to secure the hook in the keeper-loop. In this way it will be observed that the end boards AL' may be connected together with their upper surfaces flush with each other and that when so connected they will form a top which is capable of supporting heavy articles, such as large llowcr-pots or the like.

'lhe U-shaped rectangular bars g of the folding sections ll preferably have their horizontally-disposed portions cut away at their ends and their vertically-disposed end portions pivotally connected to the bars cof the body A in a plane below the upper side of the horizontal portions of said bars, as shown, so as to permit of them being swung up into the position shown in Fig. 3. Said sections B also have legs n, which are pivotally connected to the longitudinal portions of the bars g at points adjacent to where said longitudinal portions merge into the transverse portions and are designed to support the folding` sections in their operative horizontal position, as shown in Fig. 2.

p designates transverse straps, which are interposed between the legs of each folding section l5 and have depending portions (l riveted to said legs.

r designates longitudinal straps, which connect the legs c of each bar c of the body A and extend beyond said legs, as shown, and s designates straps which are pivotally connected at one end to the depending portions q of the straps p and also to the legs n and at their opposite ends to the ends of the straps r, as shown in Fig. 2. In virtue of this construction it will be observed by reference to Fig. 3 that when the sections ll are swung up into their upright position the pivotal connections of the straps s to the legs 'a willrest beyond the center between thc pivotal connections of the legs to the bars y/ and the pivotal connections of the straps .s to the straps i', and in consequence the sections l will be locked in their upright positions against casual movement. It will also be noticed that before the sections B can be moved downwardly into their operative horizontal position it is first necessary for the operator to grasp the straps p and move the pivotal connections of the straps .s to the legs n outwardly beyond the centers stated. lVith this donc the sections 13 may be readily lowered.

C designates the mattress of my improved bed. This mattress C, in the preferred em bodiment of my invention, comprises a suitable fabric t, helical springs u., interposed between and connecting the ends of the fabric and the transverse portions of the bars f/ of the end frame-sections l5, and helical springs r, interposed between and connecting the side edges of the fabric and the horizontal portions (l of the bars c of the frame-bodyA. Said mattress is also preferably connected to the horizontal portions (l of the bars rl., adjacent to the ends thereof, bylinks l/f, although this connection is not necessary.

The mattress C, with its springs in their normal contracted condition,is of a less length than the distance between the transverse portions of the bars f/ of the end sections l; when the bed is unfolded, and when the bed is folded, as shown in Fig. i), said mattress has its points of flexure at .m--that is to say, in a horizontal plane above that of the pivotal connections of the bars f/ of the sections ll to the bars c of the frame-body A. lnvirtue of this it will be observed that when the bed is folded, as shown in Fig. 3, the springs of the fabric will be contracted and the mattress will not be under tension, while when the bed is unfolded the springs will be expanded and the entire fabric held taut on the frame. This is due to the fact that the distance between the points of llexurc and the mattress and the transverse portions of the bars r/ is less when the sections l are in their upright position than when said sections .ll are in their operative horizontal position. The mattress stretches as the sections l; are swung down, and it therefore serves to prevent a sudden fall of said sections, which is a desideratum. It will also be appreciated that when the sections l5 are lowered to their operative horizontal position a dead-center is formed between the transverse portions of the bars r/ of sections 'B and the pivotal connections of said bars to the bars a of the frame-body A, and consequently the fabric being under tension is enabled to prevent casual raising` of the sections ll. \Vhen, however, the outer end of one of the sections l) is raised out of the said center, the Vfabric being under tension will immediately exerta pull which will assist a person materially in raising the sections l).

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605,126 f I e D designates casters which are provided at the lower ends of the legs e ofthe frame-body A, as shown, for the purpose of facilitating the moving of the bed from one point in an apartment to another. These casters respectively comprise a Wheel/y and an apertured shank z, which carries the wheel, and they are each connected to One leg e of the body A by a pintle a', which extends loosely throughv the aperture of the shank z and has a head b at its lower end and a piece of sheet metal c' which is bent upon itself to form a bight which receives and holds the pintle a by frictional contact and is connected to the angleiron leg by a rivet d', as shown. This manner of connecting the castersV to the legs e is exceedingly cheap and simple and yet is strong and durable and calculated to insure free turning Of the caster-Shanks at all times.

In practice suitable bedding (not shown) is v in the position shown in Fig. 2 is ready for use as such. When the bed is not in use and it is desired to make other use of the floorspace which it occupies, it is folded, as shown in Fig. 1. In this position the bed is covered by a textile cover (not shown) which completely hides it from view,and it may then be made to serve the purpose of a table or stand for supporting flower-pots, ornaments, or other articles.

In lieu Of providing end boards on both of the end sections B for the purpose Of forming a flat top when the bed is folded I contemplate providing One section B with a bracket E and the other section B with an end board 7l', which is similar in construction to the end boards c' before described and is sufficiently wide to extend from :the end Of one section B to the end of the other section B and rest on the bracket E, as shown. This board vl when the bed is unfolded may be and preferably is made to serve as the headboard of the bed, While the bracket E is made to serve as the footboard.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that my improved bed is constructed with a view of rendering it light and strong and permitting of it being quickly and easily made without the employment of expensive ma- -of the body.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim isl. In a metallic folding bed, the combination of a main frame comprising a body and end sections pivotally connected with y the body and adapted to swing in a vertical plane, a suitable means for supporting the end sections in their horizontal position, and end boards connected to the end sections andeach comprising a thin plate of sheet metal Asusceptible of being embossed and possessing resiliency and a suitable marginal reinforcement; one of said boards being provided with a keeper-loop and the other with a hook whereby they inay be connected when the bed is folded,"substantially as specified.

2. In a metallic bed, the combination ofa frame having an angle-iron leg, a caster having a shank provided with an aperture, a piece of sheet metal looped tO form a bight and having its ends riveted to the leg, and a pintle extending through the aperture of the caster-shank and having a head at its lower end and'also having'its' upper portion held by frictional contact in the loop of sheet metal, substantially as specified.

3. In a metallic bed, the combination of a frame having a suitable leg, a pintle, a caster loosely mounted on the pintle so as tO turn thereon, and a piece of sheet metal tightly looped around the pintle so as to hold the same by frictional contact and having its ends connected to the legs, substantially as specified.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROBERT O. ODELL. 

